As Chicago PD enters its 7th season, fans have seen characters come and go. Some have been murdered, sent to prison, or just left without any proper goodbyes. And still, fans have either gravitated towards the new members or kept a candle burning for the old ones. With a cast as diverse as theirs, the writers have done a great job breaking down and building up storylines.

With six seasons under their belts, which characters should take a step back and which ones should step into the forefront? With Hank Voight being the leader, does he deserve to see the majority of the screen? What about Jay Halstead, Kim Burgess, or even Kevin Atwater? If you had to choose, who would you want to step back or step up?

Here are 5 Characters Who Need More Screen Time and 5 Who Deserve Less

Hank Voight (Less)

Despite being the lead character, it’s time for Hank Voight to take a step back. His actions are getting a bit out of control and the crazy part is, those are the same traits that made us fall in love with him. But constantly going against his Unit for the issues that he has created, is getting a bit old even for his loyal followers. Not saying that Voight has to die or anything but a reduced time on-screen could open the door for other characters to get some spotlight.

We can see early in Season 7 that there will be major roadblocks between Voight and Halstead. Which is good considering that Voight was ready to turn over the Intelligence Unit to Halstead at the end of Season 6.

Hailey Upton (More)

It’s time to find out more about Hailey. With two seasons under her belt, she’s still a bit of a mystery to most fans. Her romance with Ruzek provided little into her personal life. Where’s the family? How does she operate outside of work? Does she have any friends, favorite food or anything?

What’s intriguing about her is that she’s more like Antonio then she realizes. Hailey is a straight shooter and her judgment often clash with Halstead and Ruzek. She’s good police but there will come a time when she will have to either get her hands dirty or snitch on one of her team members.

Adam Ruzek (Less)

Adam has had more than enough time to shine on Chicago PD. He’s had two romances, an issue with loyalty, trained under Olinsky and is the main undercover guy. It’s time for Ruzek to step aside and let someone else take the lead here. He’s a great character but it would be wise for the writers to tone it down some so viewers won’t become turned off.

Once considered the “Golden Boy” because of his lineage, Ruzek makes more mistakes than anyone on the show. That alone offers him more opportunities to showcase his skills. It seems that every time Chicago PD needs that male/female relationship aspect, Ruzek always gets the nod.

Kevin Atwater (More)

Without a doubt, he’s the main character that needs more time on screen. Atwater has become a fan favorite for a few reasons. As the only African-American lead on the show, a huge chunk of Atwater’s past, present, and future has yet to be discussed. Then we have the most staggering issue—his love life. Fans have begged for this to get more time and we’ve been disappointed, to say the least.

Kevin has a heart of gold and is fearless which provides the viewers with more action scenes. His friendship with Ruzek is another thing that has fans worried. Ruzek gets plenty of screen time and yet, the writers have not touched on that friendship other than stakeouts.

Kim Burgess (Less)

It’s not a big issue that some have for Burgess. It’s just something that her character is lacking. With Lindsay, it came natural and the same goes for Upton. However, when it comes to Burgess, it all seems a bit forced. Despite having a few years under her belt in the Unit, it’s like she still has something to prove to everyone, herself included.

Her romances have been duds and she’s been in too many questionable situations that’s it’s mindboggling how Voight hasn’t kicked her off the team yet. Burgess is tough, a smart cop, and a team player but it’s time the camera shifted focus elsewhere.

Brian Kelton (More)

Despite his death, Kelton, played by John C. McGinley was not a bad character to have on Chicago PD. He wasn’t a good guy but Season 6 was great for the fact that Voight had an enemy he just couldn’t beat. Maybe that’s why the writers decided to kill him off. In 60 minutes, the Intelligence Unit usually solved their crimes with the bad guys either dead or in jail. However, when it came to Kelton, he was almost untouchable.

Taking him off the show was a huge mistake. The back and forth between he and Voight kept the Unit on their toes. Kelton was the worst of the worst but he provided a great storyline. Being robbed of seeing him as Mayor was a shame. With him running the show and threatening to dismantle the Unit would have made for great TV.

Trudy Platt (Less)

Trudy doesn’t get much screentime, so a reduction shouldn’t cause any outrage. The majority of her time on the show has been spent behind the desk making wisecracks and offering advice. At her age, she’s no longer fit for the field. If anything, let Platt in with the Intelligence Unit during interrogations. In her day, she was an awesome cop, so giving her that opportunity to prove it to the audience would be cool.

Another factor is that she’s married. The show tends to separate themselves from love interest outside of the force. While a Platt and Mouch household would offer comedy relief, spending time with the older couple is not what fans have in mind when it comes to Chicago PD.

Kate Brennan (More)

With Kelton dead, Voight and his team will need another nemesis. Although Kate is in jail, that doesn’t mean her need for revenge will just vanish. She asked Voight for time, Voight left and Halstead took it upon himself to take Kate down before she could kill herself. Although Voight had nothing to do with it, he was blamed.

What this did was set up a possible showdown if Kate is released or she can make moves from the inside to make Voight’s life a living hell. Killing her off would have been easy but giving her more screen time in either street clothes or prison orange was the best move by the writers.

Jay Halstead (Less)

Halstead has the potential to run the Unit someday and Voight knows this. That’s the reason why they also have a ton of friction between them. As rocky as their relationship is, it’s also one of, if not the best on the show. Their chemistry is better than Voight and Alvin’s for the fact that Alvin just went along for the ride while Jay will question Voight any chance he gets.

Jay has been through plenty on six seasons and for that alone, it’s time for his character to take a step back. His love interest has either left or went to prison, his brother is a busy doctor, and all he has left is the Unit. He’s slowly becoming Atwater 2.0.

Ray Price (More)

At first, Price was on the same list as Kelton. He made for good TV but his character was seen as the villain. Although Price hasn’t done anything as bad as Kelton, he wasn’t the model Chicago citizen either. What stood out about Ray was the attempt at building a good friendship with Voight. With Alvin gone, Voight no longer has a real strong connection with another male figure.

With Price running for Mayor, he and Voight struck up a deal to bring Kelton down. In the process, tragedy struck the Price family and he was sent to jail. Bringing Price back would be huge as he and Voight could team up to help clean up the city.

Next: Chicago PD: 10 Hidden Details About The Main Characters Everyone Missed